The tightest P2 or N95 masks are available at hardware stores, supermarkets and pharmacies. But if only medical masks are available, wearing a cloth mask over the surgical mask or “double masking” can provide extra protection. One study shows that tying ear loops before tying them around the ears can also reduce gaps.
Adrian Esterman, a professor of biostatistics and epidemiology at the University of South Australia, said he wore a mask in crowded outdoor environments where he could not distance himself socially safely, such as football matches. He also took one recently to a movie theater and takes one to a restaurant until he sits down.
Masks matter
- All over the age of eight should wear an N95, P1 or P2 mask in crowded indoor environments.
- Good quality tight masks reduce the risk of COVID infection by two-thirds.
- Clothes and surgical masks are better than no masks, but they are poor filters of COVID particles in the air.
- If only medical masks are available, use a cloth mask over the surgical mask for added protection.
“Basically, every time you walk through a crowd of strangers you should wear a mask,” he said.
Esterman said there was a general scientific consensus that the use of a mask was beneficial in slowing the spread of variant BA.5, but it was difficult to obtain exact figures because “it is almost impossible to do a randomized controlled trial of the ‘use of face mask’.
“But the tests that have been done show that … if you wear a good quality mask, like an N95, you’re basically two-thirds less likely to get infected.”
An uninfected person wearing a tight-fitting mask has up to a 75 percent chance of contracting COVID-19, according to an independent investigation.
Masks can help protect against Omicron’s BA.5 subvariant, which is feeding the latest wave. Credit: Justin McManus
Esterman said N95 or P2 masks were superior to fabric or surgical masks for two key reasons: they have a higher degree of filtration and don’t let particles escape into the air because they fit better on the face.
Baxter said Omicron’s subvariant outbreak would be more contained in Victoria if more people wore masks.
He cited a study of 20 million people on six continents that found that mask use reduces the effective reproductive number, or the average number of people infecting an initial case in a population, by 19 percent.
“What I ask everyone to do is look at what you’re doing and think about what you could do to make it a little safer when it comes to the spread of COVID-19,” he said.
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